Intellectual property of a person or an organization constitutes of various intangible properties which are usually not physical in nature but hold great value to someone.
Intellectual property usually includes trade secrets, artistic work, designs, copyrights, trademarks, business ideas, concepts, company's data etc.
Organizations are usually under very heavy competition and need to protect their internal data from competitors and other third parties.
Outsourcing web development requirements is a growing and very profitable arrangement for both the parties.
Especially PHP, .
Net and Java development outsourcing have emerged as the most prominent and regularly outsourced web technologies.
The business concept is very great but it has a few drawbacks that must be properly addressed.
The protection of intellectual property is one such major concern for businesses and organizations.
There have been many incidents where technologies and intellectual property of clients has been misused by unethical companies.
There are few things that clients can do to make sure that their intellectual property is always safe and well protected.
Some of the few tips that can help organizations in protecting their intellectual property while outsourcing projects are: Well Documented Information Security Management Policy: It is very important to enquire about the information security management policy of a vendor before offering your project to them.
Every professional and serious vendor follows a specific set of rules and regulations while handling the intellectual property of their clients.
If you find that the service provider is not following a proper policy or there is no policy then it is time to look for some other development company.
Further, a proper vendor would offer development of the project over a dedicated data server with audit controls for every project server.
Under their security policy, most of the vendors also have all the member of their company to sign a confidentiality agreement with them.
Provide Only The Required Information: One of the best ways to minimize the risk of intellectual property theft is by regulating the flow of information from your end to the development company's end.
Usually, clients tend to provide complete access to their data, confidential documents and other important things without giving it much thought.
While this might be a harmless thing when dealing with a professional and well reputed company but sometimes this kind of behavior costs a lot to the client.
Some unethical companies tend to exploit their client's data and use it for their own benefits.
They might even start blackmailing the clients in order to give back the info or access to their own systems.
Ownership of the Source Code and Software: Clients must also clarify the ownership of the source code before they start with the project.
While most of the Java and.
Net development outsourcing service providers agree to provide the full ownership of the source code and the software, some of the companies exploit situations where clients forget to talk about it beforehand.
Whether you have a small requirement or a large requirement, the safety of your data is very important.
I hope that the above mentioned tips would help you in safeguarding your intellectual property much properly and efficiently than before.